World News - U.S. Navy Orders Commander Under Internal Investigation to Relinquish Post

The U.S. Navy said Monday it had relieved a top officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower who is under an internal investigation on unspecified charges. Cmdr. Christopher Rankin, who commanded a squadron of EA-6B aircraft aboard the Eisenhower, has been temporarily reassigned within the carrier group due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command, said Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl of the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet. The Navy gave no details on why Rankin's commander, Capt. Scott Stearney, lost confidence in his abilities. Stearney leads Carrier Air Wing 7, which includes Rankin's squadron. "It's inappropriate to discuss the details because an investigation is ongoing. It's an internal situation," Aandahl said. "There could be a (criminal) charge. It's possible." ... http://abcnews.go.com

A suicide attacker ran onto a police training field and blew himself up, killing up to 10 policemen and wounding dozens of others Monday in northern Afghanistan, officials said.The attack happened in the relatively quiet city of Kunduz, where police were doing their regular morning exercises in a field, said Abdul Hadi, a security official. Hadi said that according to preliminary reports, 10 police were killed and 10 were wounded.Azizullah Safar, chief of the Kunduz hospital, said 41 victims were brought to his hospital — and that nine of them died, and 32 were wounded, including four in critical condition.Provincial police chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi blamed the attack on the Taliban and al-Qaeda, but he did not provide any further details...http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-04-16-afghanistan-attack_N.htm?csp=34

Britain will hold an inquiries into the seizure and detention of 15 British sailors by Iran and the military's decision to allow the crew to sell their stories to the media, the defense secretary said Monday. The review into the crisis itself, expected to last six weeks, will look into the sailors' operation in the Persian Gulf and how the situation was handled, said Defense Secretary Des Browne. It will be led by Royal Marines Lt. Gen. Sir Rob Fulton, who is the governor general of the British territory of Gibraltar. "I am committed to ensuring Parliament and the public has the full facts," Browne said, "but just as important to ensure that the (Defense Ministry) and services learn from these events and do not let them happen again." Browne has said he has no intention of resigning over the standoff. Earlier, Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman said the British leader had full confidence in his defense secretary. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3045597

Banco Delta Asia, a small Macau lender accused of helping North Korea launder money, said Monday it filed a challenge to Washington's decision to cut it off from the U.S. financial system.The bank told the U.S. Department of Treasury that its accusations "lacked specific facts" and they were motivated by politics, the bank said in a statement.The U.S. announced last month the bank would be blacklisted and blocked from doing business with American banks, a potentially crippling blow to most lenders. The move came after American investigators accused the bank of helping North Korea launder money and handle counterfeit currency.Macau's Monetary Authority took control of the bank and froze about US$25 million in North Korean funds. That enraged the North Koreans, who for more than a year boycotted the six-nation talks that aim to disarm the North's nuclear program....http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-04-16-macau-nkorea_N.htm?csp=34

Readers were the first to abandon U.S. newspapers. Then advertisers and investors. Now analysts are joining the exodus. Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Lauren Rich Fine left this month after 19 years covering the newspaper industry. Last month, Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Christa Sober Quarles dropped coverage of newspaper stocks. John Morton has stopped writing his industry newsletter after 30 years, saying readers were sick of the bad news. Analysts who cover Gannett Co., Tribune Co. and New York Times Co. are having trouble attracting investors' attention. U.S. newspapers' daily circulation fell 30 percent to 43.7 million in September from 62.3 million in 1985, the Audit Bureau says, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Publishing & Printing Index has dropped 14 percent since April 2004, while the S&P 500 Index gained 29 percent. ...http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=al9ZUkvH_o_8&refer=exclusive

A gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech on Monday, killing 21 people and wounding another 21 before he was killed, police said. The university told students to stay inside and away from windows as police swept the campus and worked to establish whether the gunman acted alone. On the website, Tech reported the shootings at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus at West Ambler Johnston, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895 people, and said there were "multiple victims" at Norris Hall, an engineering building. All entrances to the campus were closed and classes canceled through Tuesday. "There's just a lot of commotion. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on," said student Jason Anthony Smith, 19, who lives in the dorm where shooting took place. Aimee Kanode, a freshman from Martinsville, said the shooting happened on the 4th floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, one floor above her room. ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-16-virginia-tech_N.htm?csp=34